There were many
tight-fisted broadcasting officials in the Golden Age of Radio, but probably
none more pernicious the George W. Trendle, the owner of WXYZ in Detroit.
Possessed of a penny-pinching persona and an unfailing quest to snatch
credit for the accomplishments of his subordinates, Trendle rode rough-shod
over his minions at WXYZ. Most of his avarice and glory-stealing was well
documented by one of his long-term employees, Dick Osgood, in his book
"WYXIE Wonderland."

Radio station WXYZ
would eventually, through the strength and popularity of its "The
Lone Ranger", "Challenge of the Yukon", and "The Green
Hornet" become a gold mine for Trendle and his banker cronies. But
the talented cast, crew, and production staff of these shows always got
short-changed. Many of the high-handed practices Trendle perfected would
not have been successful in an era other than the Great Depression, where
any job was eagerly sought by desperate Americans.

Trendle, and his hatchet-man, H. Allen
Campbell, would offer prospective employees a job.....at no pay! Promising
a salary "when things got better", Trendle and Campbell got free
labor from many hungry workers. One of them, Ted Robertson, was hired at
no pay as a WXYZ soundman and quickly exhausted his savings. When he didn't
have the busfare to get to the station from the home of his aunt, where
he stayed, the station manager telephoned him, but got the aunt. "He
has no money and I can't lend him any more" said the aunt. "Very
well", replied the manager, "just loan him busfare for today
and I'll put him on salary tomorrow." Next day Robertson was making
$ 6.25 a week.

While there are
many variations on the actual origin of the Lone Ranger, the facts confirm
that it was primarily the creation of Fran Striker, writer, and James Jewell,
program manager. However in 1935 Trendle, with his banker buddies, incorporated
the Lone Ranger so neither Striker nor Jewell ever made a nickel (other
than their salaries) from the fortunes in Lone Ranger royalties, movies,
merchandise, etc.

For the music played
on WXYZ dramatic shows, Trendle and Campbell always specified classical
(read "not under copyright" so the music was free. This was not
an uncommon practice among the radio stations in those days. But Trendle
had more cruel economy measures as documented when he fired 26 station
employees on Christmas Day 1936.

Despite the immediate
and enormous popularity of the Lone Ranger, Trendle made sure that none
of his cast and crew were ever fairly compensated. He actually fired the
talented Fran Striker when the script writer asked for a $ 3 raise per
episode. After several months with substitute writers, Trendle allowed
the humbled Striker to return to his old job.

Campbell's responsibilities
included keeping a duplicate set of accounting books on each radio series
so he could show "red ink" to any employee brash enough to ask
for a raise. If this failed, Campbell would stoop even lower.

Once Earl Graser,
the voice of the Lone Ranger, knowing of the financial bonanza his series
had become, tried to get a raise. Campbell told him: "You're no radio
actor; all you can do is play the Ranger. You know, I think we ought to
make some changes with the Ranger. It might add interest if he was shot
and then he could be in the hospital for weeks. Yeah, we might even have
him die! Sure, that's it, then his nephew could take his place, the kid,
Dan Reid. Hell, that's what we're after anyway...the kid audience!"
The color drained from Graser's face and his hopes for a raise evaporated.
He retreated from Campbell's office, hoping he still had a job.

Striker, of course,
was a prodigious writer and was scripting daily the adventures of both
the Lone Ranger and the Green Hornet. But his modest salary crept up in
baby-step increments even after both shows skyrocketed in income. And Trendle
was such a skin-flint, he refused to lease a pay phone needed by the sound
effects staff for the Green Hornet. They had to build one: a steel tray
into which they placed a metal washer which dropped into a iron box. They
they added the sound of a dial from another telephone they had.

The contract of
Al Hodge, the voice of the Green Hornet, required a substantial raise as
soon as WXYZ found a sponsor for the program. None appeared so Hodge was
pleasantly surprised when he traveled to Canada briefly and heard Green
Hornet transcriptions on the air with Canadian sponsors.

Hodge immediately
returned to Detroit and confronted Campbell. "Nothing in your contract
about Canadian sponsors" Campbell retorted and dismissed him. Hodge
officially took the matter to the newly formed radio union, AFRA, and eventually
was able to get the raise he deserved.

Over the years,
the WXYZ programs continued to make untold fortunes for Trendle and his
backroom cronies, while the creators toiled in relative obscurity at modest
wages. There were enormous royalties earned from the movies, television,
books, and countless items of merchandise, from costumes to lunch boxes.
And virtually all of the profits went into the personal piggy-bank of George
W. Trendle.

The final, bitter
irony of this story occurred in July 1954, when at the age of 70, Trendle
sold his entire rights to the Lone Ranger to the Wrather Corporation for
$ 3 million. Tossing his proverbial dog a bone, Trendle gave Fran Striker
a $ 4000 bonus out of the proceeds.